Gstaad Concours d'Elegance

The remarkable car collection of H.S.H. Prince of Monaco is located on Terrasses de Fontvieille.The exhibition covers 5 000 m2 and includes a wide range of cars from the 1903 De Dion Bouton chassis Tonneau, 1921 Rolls-Royce Phantom I, 1928 Hispano Suiza H6B, 1947 Delahaye 135 MS and 1963 Facel Vega Facel II to 2019 Ferrari SF90 driven by Charles Leclerc who born in Monaco. 

The two family gems of the collection are the 1956 Chrysler Imperial in which Prince Rainier III welcomed Grace Kelly to his Principality and the 1959 sporty Renault Floride that belonged to Princess Grace.
“Prince Rainier III was a lover of beautiful cars, and he began to build up a fine collection,” said Valérie Closier, Director of the car collection and herself a keen rally driver. “He was passionate and wanted to exhibit them in a unique place in order to present them to visitors.”

For more information, please consult the website of the Cars Collection of H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco: http://www.mtcc.mc

The Club was founded in 1897 and is the second oldest automobile Club after the Automobile Club de France (ACF).  It has occupied its magnificent Clubhouse in Pall Mall, London since 1911 and visitors are always greeted with a splendid motor car in the rotunda.  The Club is hugely active and during a normal year The Club runs over 80 events including 25 alone during early November’s London Motor Week, with a huge attendance at the free Regent Street Motor Show. The latter showcases over a century of motoring from the pre-1905 London to Brighton veteran motor cars, through to past and present competition cars, classics and future-focused electric vehicles. 

In 2021, Cussons participated in the London to Brighton Veteran car run in the RAC 1901 Mors 10 H.P. 4 cylinder. With a body created by Parisian carrosserie, Henri Binder, it is both one of the more magnificent and technologically advanced cars of its era, featuring a 4 speed gearbox powered by a 4 cylinder engine. He shared the driving with the British scientist and Chair of the Science Museum, Baroness Archer of Weston-super-Mare DBE and on arrival they were welcomed with a hot toddy from courtesy of Aberfeldy single malt whisky after an untroubled journey in good weather. 

But it is not just motoring activities that keep Cussons busy, in the run up to the election of the new head of the FIA in December 2021, he held a hustings at the RAC to hear what the two presidential candidates would say. One was Mohammed Ben Sulayem and other Graham Stoker. Each were given 2-hour slot in which they could present their manifestos. The chair of Motorsport UK, David Richards CBE was also present, as were members of both boards

“It was an enlightening experience to see the process of election, “Cussons said,” which was also made available to our members. It gave an opportunity to probe deeply into manifestos and what they could bring to the table if they were elected.” Mohammed Ben Sulayem was later elected FIA President.

When it comes to motorsport in Monaco, Tiffany Perlino is a high flyer. She has been a member of the Automobile Club Monaco since 2008 and competed nine times in the historic Monte Carlo Rally as co-driver and twice as driver in a beautiful bright yellow 1972 Lanica Fulvia HF 1600. She also holds two important positions in the motoring world.

“I have always loved anything on wheels and I was thrilled to be asked in 2019 to be President of the Women in Motorsport  Commission for the Automobile Club Monaco,” she said. “ The aim of the commission is to share our passion, knowledge and experience and encourage other women to participate in the exciting world of motorsport. Then I received another invitation to be the Monaco National Representative for Women in Motorsport Commission FIA  which is presided over by Michèle Mouton.”

Tiffany has lived in Monaco for over 30 years and was introduced by her husband, Silvio, into the world of rallying. She wants to show that motorsport is open to girls and women on many different levels, as a profession but also as a thrilling hobby. It’s not just a man’s world out there, there is room for women too.

Milan is famous for fashion but who would have thought that it was the capital of motoring books. I made a amazing discovery of Nada bookshop which has some 10,000 titles on historic and classic cars as well motorcycles. A car lover’s paradise which was founded by Giorgio Nada and his wife Silvia. It is run by Sergio Nada, a well informed motoring enthusiast and his brother Stefano is the CEO of the Nada publishing house.

“Some 70% of the books in our shop are in English,” said Sergio. “The ones that I recommend are Italian Coachbuilders (Elvio Deganello), Formula 1 & Monza A Race In Pictures as the photos are incredible, The Lamborghini Miura Register book (Simon Kidson), Jaguar E-Type Six-Cylinder Originality Guide (T.F. Haddock,  M.C.Mueller), Ferrari 1000 GP Official book (Louis Camilleri and various authors) and the Pininfarina 90 years Official book with 632 models from 1930-2020.” 

He smiles and continued.”For me the F1 all the races: The first 1,000 (Roger Smith) is an magnum opus as it has crazy deep research. With regard to cars, the most beautiful ones are made by Touring Superleggera, a master Italian coachbuilder established in 1926. A good book is Touring Masterpieces Of Style written by Luciano Greggio. 

Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday: 10.00 – 13.00 15.00 – 19.00

The address is Libreria Dell’Automoile, Corso Venezia, 45, 20121 Milano,  

Tel +39 02 7600 6624

E-mail: negozio@libreriadellautomobile.it

Website: www.libreriadellautomobile.it

Mail order department:
Libreria dell’Automobile / International Motoring Bookstore
Via Claudio Treves 15/17 – 20055 Vimodrone (Milano) – Italy
Tel. ++39 (0)2 27 30 14 62 / 68

Louis Vuitton, pioneer in the art of travel, has partnered with BMW  to create a tailor-made set of luggage crafted in carbon fibre for the newly launched BMW i8. But the iconic luxury brand has a long history with travel as in the 19th century its trunks were personalised for clients. Later, they were revolutionised through the introduction of its secure system of luggage locks which is still used today.

Now through its store manager, Valentina Ranadipura, there’s also link to Formula 1. She was born in Monza, the home of the Italian Grand Prix and as a baby she got accustomed to the roar of the engines. It was magic experience sitting with the family throughout her youth and cheering on the Ferrari team.

“Later, as an adult I got hooked on the event and would arrive three days before for the race preparation,”said Valentina, a charming, friendly and bright woman.”There, I would meet all the team and I got to know what it was like to sit in a F1 racer.”

She studied marketing and languages in Milan Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Her appreciation of art and architecture was stimulated while in Milan, particularly by the impressive Gothic cathedral. From the pink-hued white marble to the famous Madonnina, the gold-coloured statue of Mary that stands on the cathedral’s highest spire, it was a great inspiration. 

“What I enjoyed most was seeing the cathedral in different light,”she said,”On sunny days, it’s the lightest place in the world. Then on grey days, its dark and threatening. But most of all I like the materials selected. The use of glass enhances the feeling of space.”

While Valentina was studying, she worked part-time at Louis Vuitton. It was exhilarating experience because the staff were truly international and she fitted in immediately. She herself is cosmopolitan with a Swiss Mother and an Indonesian father. She has worked her way up in the company from sales assistant in 2006 through store trainer, field coach trainer in Milan and Vienna and finally after 14 years she was promoted to store manager in Gstaad.

In the ultra-chic resort of Gstaad with its cosmopolitan residents and visitors, Louis Vuitton provides the perfect ambiance for high-end luxury fashion. And there’s no better person suited to welcome’ the international clients than Valentina and her team.